Omni Severin Hotel, Indianapolis

Overview

Whether travelling for business or pleasure, guests at the historic 424-room Omni Severin Hotel will discover the convenience of a prime downtown location and the luxury of a elegantly updated classic hotel. In the heart of the downtown Wholesale District, the hotel is ideally located where you'll find the the biggest names and the brightest attractions the city has to offer.

The Hotel Severin opened on August 23rd, 1913, as the Grand Hotel of Indianapolis. In its heyday, from opening in 1913 to the late 1930’s, the Severin thrived on the 300 passenger trains that came in across the street at historic Union Station. Built by Henry Severin, Jr., with help from the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Founders Carl G. Fisher and James A. Allison, the Hotel Severin represented the height of luxury in its day.

The original main lobby of the Hotel Severin was located in the Severin Ballroom lobby space of today. The immense Austrian crystal chandelier and the marble staircase in this area are original to the hotel. The ornate railings above the Severin Lobby were removed by the former owners. Amazingly, the Omni renovation team found them in a barn 30 miles from the hotel and restored them to their original location.

The current Severin Ballroom was the original ballroom from the 1913 Hotel Severin. Inside this room, there hung pictures of the Hotel Severin’s founders, Henry Severin, James Allison and Carl Fisher. Today, those spots have been custom painted with gold foil, however, the outline of the plasterwork frames still exist. In addition to Mr. Severin, Fisher and Allison, Henry Gates served as President and R.H. McClellan served as manager of the Hotel Severin. Today there are 2 meeting rooms on our mezzanine level, Gates Hall and McClellan Hall, which still proudly bear their names.

During the restoration period, from 1988 until 1990, the current main lobby was added to the hotel as well as approximately 200 additional guestrooms. The original 1913 brass mailbox still serves as the working mailbox in the hotel today. Other visible items from the original Hotel Severin are the furniture pieces located on each elevator landing of the hotel. These pieces were the solid mahogany dressers from the guestrooms of the original Hotel Severin.

The chairs located in the boardroom lobby were from the original Hotel Severin restaurant and are carved with an ornate and stately letter "S".

Original Property Opened:

1913

Contact Information:Street Address: 40 West Jackson Place Indianapolis, IN

Turn of the Century, 1896 ~ 1913

Whether travelling for business or pleasure, guests at the historic 424-room Omni Severin Hotel will discover the convenience of a prime downtown location and the luxury of a elegantly updated classic hotel.